Lynch's Hat Trick Leads Everblades to 5-3 Victory Over Orlando

Game Recap by Bryce Wright

ESTERO, FL- Kevin Lynch scored three goals and an assist to lead the Florida Everblades to 5-3 victory over the Orlando Solar Bears Friday night at Germain Arena. With a win by South Carolina over Norfolk on Friday night, the Stingrays clinch the South Division title, and the Everblades will enter the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Everblades jumped on the scoreboard first with 1:06 remaining in the first period when Kevin Lynch buried the puck into a wide open net.

Solar Bears goaltender Ryan Massa went behind the net to try and clear the puck to the right, but Gabriel Desjardins was there to deflect the puck in front of the net to Lynch who slapped it in for the goal to put the ‘Blades on top 1-0.

Florida built up its lead at 5:32 into the second when Brendan O’Donnell from the left wing side coasted toward the net and flipped it up and over the shoulder of Massa for his 16th goal of the year, to extend his goal scoring streak to eight games. O’Donnell is now one game away from tying the Everblades club record for longest goal scoring streak.  Keith Anderson scored in nine straight games back in the 2003-04 season.

Three minutes later, Kevin Lynch scored his second goal of the game riffling a bullet from the blue line past Massa to extend the Everblades’ lead to 3-0.

With eight minutes remaining Eric Faille rebounded the puck off a Brandon Anselmini shot putting it past Rasmus Tirronen to cut the Everblades’ lead to 3-1.

With five minutes remaining in regulation, Greg Gibson and Matt Willows connected on the power play with a give-and-go play which was capped off with Greg Gibson scoring his fifth goal of the year putting the Everblades up 4-1.

Just seconds later, Orlando’s Erik Bradford was able to find the back of the net as he shoved the puck underneath Tirronen to cut the Everblades lead back to two.

The Solar Bears pulled Massa to go up a man with the extra attacker. Just one minute later, the Solar Bears cut the Everblades lead to 4-3 when Rylan Schwartz slapped the puck into the net from the left wing circle.

With Massa still pulled from the net, Kevin Lynch sealed the Everblades win with an empty net goal getting his third goal of the game, the second hat trick of the season for the Everblades.Rasmus Tirronen earned the victory stopping 27 out of 30 shots on net, while Ryan Massa takes the loss allowing four goals on 40 shots faced.

The Everblades and Solar Bears are back at it again Saturday April 9. Game time is set at 7:00 p.m. at Germain Arena.

Upcoming Home Games & Promotions

Saturday, April 9 vs. Orlando, 7:00 p.m.Fan Appreciation Weekend continues! The first 5,000 fans will receive a FREE rally card!  Fans will receive a Wawa food voucher as they exit the arena...The Everblades team awards ceremony will take place prior to the game  More prizes and giveaways handed out to fans throughout the night!  The white jerseys the team wore this season will be auctioned off following the game. 

Ticket Information

Game Tickets: Everblades tickets may be purchased at the Florida Community Bank Box Office located at Germain Arena, or at any Ticketmaster outlet, or online atwww.ticketmaster.com

Discounted Group Tickets: Bring your group of 10 or more to a game at a discounted price, and also receive an Everblades souvenir! Group tickets are available for all home games. For more information on group tickets, call 239-948-7825.

2016-17 Season Ticket Plans Now Available:  Full  and flexible partial season ticket plans are  currently available for the 2016-17 season. We offer several tickets packages designed to help fit your budget and schedule. For more information, call 239-948-7825, or stop by the team’s main office located at Germain Arena from Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Fans may also stop by our sales tables located in the concourse at Everblades games. .

The Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliateof the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes###